Sodium ion battery

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript. • Review Article • 18 June 2021 Fundamentals, status and promise of sodium-based batteries • ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0840-7246 • ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5202-175X • • ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1491-4060 • • • … • ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2274-6068 Show authors Nature Reviews Materials volume 6, pages 1020–1035 ( 2021) Na-based batteries have shown substantial progress in recent years and are promising candidates for mitigating the supply risks associated with Li-based batteries. In this Review, Na and Li batteries are compared in terms of fundamental principles and specific materials. Principles for the rational design of a Na battery architecture are discussed. Recent prototypes are surveyed to demonstrate that Na cells offer realistic alternatives that are competitive with some Li cells in terms of performance. • Miller, S. L., Svrcek, M. N., Teh, K. Y. & Edwards, C. F. Requirements for designing chemical engines with reversible reactions. Energy 36, 99–110 (2011). • Teh, K. Y., Miller, S. L. & Edwards, C. F. Thermodynamic requirements for maximum internal combustion engine cycle efficiency. Part 1: optimal combustion strategy. Int. J...

Are sodium-ion batteries worth their salt? The lithium-ion battery is synonymous with the green energy revolution, but the spiralling cost of lithium is driving research into high-efficiency, low-cost alternatives. Julian Turner talks to Min Ah Lee, a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford University, about her work on sodium-ion battery alternatives. “The material costs are $30/kg for NMC, and $10/kg for our sodium salt, so the cost per kW/h for NMC in the lithium cell is around $48/kWh, and for our material in the sodium cell is $35/kWh.” Credit: Courtesy of Poyraz 72 Starting in 2015, prices for lithium almost tripled to more than $20,000 a tonne in just ten months. The metal is the central component of lithium-ion batteries, used to power the majority of the gadgetry that Western society now takes for granted, everything from laptops and smartphones to electric vehicles, and has become indispensible. Demand for the metal is insatiable. Bloomberg reports that electric car production is set to increase more than thirtyfold by 2030, and the race is on in laboratories from California to New South Wales to develop a high-efficiency, low-cost alternative to the now ubiquitous lithium-ion batteries, which are less environmentally damaging than those containing heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury. “The main challenges in developing a battery that’s more cost-effective than lithium is the absence of high-performing electrode materials,” Lee explains. “There have been dem...

BLUETTI, a manufacturer of solar + storage products, including LiFePO4 battery stations, is debuting a sodium-ion battery technology at CES 2022. Recently BLUETTI has announced the “ BLUETTI’s first-generation sodium-ion battery excels in thermal stability, fast-charging capacity, low-temperature performance, and integration efficiency, despite slightly lower energy density than its LiFePO4 ones. The NA300 inherits all the style and appearance settings of its predecessor, EP500 Pro, especially four 20A plugs and one 30A L14-30 output port driven by the built-in 3,000W pure sine wave inverter. In addition, NA300 can be recharged to 80% in 30 minutes by 6,000W swift AC + PV dual charging. (3,000W Max. for both AC and PV), making it one of the fastest charging battery units for a solar application. The NA300 only delivers 3,000 Wh capacity, less than EP500 Pro in the same size due to technical limitations. But it supports up to two B480 battery modules (4,800Wh each) for up to 12,600 Wh capacity, and the unit, recharged by solar panels, can serve a family’s electricity needs for several days or even a week during grid failures or natural disasters. In a low-temperature environment of -20°C (-4℉), it still has an over 85% capacity retention rate and over 80% system integration efficiency. Therefore, NA300 & B480 are great in winter or regions with shallow temperatures. Additionally, NA300 also offers connection with another NA300 by a fusion box (Output voltage and power doubl...

Sodium-ion batteries have great promise. They’re energy dense, nonflammable, and operate well in colder temperatures, and sodium is cheap and abundant. Plus, sodium-based batteries will be more environmentally friendly and even less expensive than lithium-ion batteries are becoming now. Sodium-ion battery performance has been limited because of poor durability, but this is about to change for the better. Sodium-ion battery breakthrough A research team from Nature Energy, provide a promising recipe for a battery that may one day power electric vehicles and store solar energy. The researchers shifted the ingredients that make up the battery’s liquid core. That shift prevents performance issues that have caused trouble for previous sodium-based batteries. PNNL lead author Here, we have shown in principle that sodium-ion batteries have the potential to be a long-lasting and environmentally friendly battery technology. The right salt As PNNL explains, in batteries, the electrolyte is the circulating “blood” that keeps the energy flowing. The electrolyte forms by dissolving salts in solvents, resulting in charged ions that flow between the positive and negative electrodes. Over time, the electrochemical reactions that keep the energy flowing get sluggish, and the battery can no longer recharge. In current sodium-ion battery technologies, this process happens much faster than in lithium-ion batteries. The PNNL team attacked that problem by switching out the liquid solution and th...

Sodium-ion batteries are emerging as a viable alternative to lithium-ion technology. Industrial heavyweights CATL and Reliance Industries, following the acquisition of UK-based sodium-ion specialist Faradion, are bent on bringing the technology out of the lab and into mass production. Against a backdrop of soaring prices and predicted shortfalls of lithium-ion battery materials, sodium-ion chemistry has never been more tantalizing. March 26, 2022 From Sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries offer superior environmental credentials, enhanced safety, and better raw material costs than lithium-ion (Li-ion). In addition, Na-ion batteries also promise strong performance and continuous improvements in density and cycle rate are making the chemistry particularly exciting. “Sodium-ion technology is still in its infancy but represents a viable alternative to Li-ion technologies, depending on how far companies are willing to invest,” says Max Reid, research analyst at Wood Mackenzie. And alternative battery technologies that use fewer or zero critical raw materials could ease the growing strain on Li-ion supply chains. Sodium is a thousand times more abundant than lithium and there is practically an infinite supply of it, with the overall cost of extraction and purification far lower. Generally, Na-ion cells are quoted to be between 20% and up to 40% cheaper, but the challenge is bringing the technology to scale. “In the short term, the cost to manufacture Na-ion will be high as producers loo...